Ross Brown Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Catagory probably = "who cares" but I have few minutes to kill and I was thinking about tonight. We have a gig back at the venue in which we are the house band the last Friday of every month. The owner asked us to play tonight due to a scheduling snaffu. We were there two weeks ago. We currently have about 85 active songs on our list and tonight we are playing songs that we have not played for a long time. We also added several new ones. We are adding Keep on Rockin' Me, Wonderful Tonight, Message in a Bottle, Waiting on a Friend, House of the Rising Son (I wonder if anyone will like this one, we play it well. Just old an old song) and maybe Wild Night. I am looking forward to it. It will either be a blast or a trainwreck. We did go over the songs that we haven't played in a while at this week's rehearsal. The new ones will be interesting too since they are "almost ready". We have been playing together long enough to know we can usually avoid trainwrecks and get through trouble spots un-noticed. I worry that we will get boring if we keep playing the same songs at the same venue so this should be good for everyone (customers and us). Thanks for reading.... Have a great week end everyone! "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 We have been on our "leader" for a while now to come up with some new stuff. We rotate through 3 venues and we haven't changed our set list in a while. I am concerned that we will get stale pretty quick. Unfortunately, the person that needs to change it up, isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Good luck Ross. We occasionally do the Frigid Pink version of "House of the rising Sun" which rocks and the crowd loves it.We had a house gig at a bar for about 5 years and it isn't easy to stay fresh and also not get bored with the place. But a guy who can wear a shirt like yours shouldn't have any trouble with boredom! Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 Good luck Ross. We occasionally do the Frigid Pink version of "House of the rising Sun" which rocks and the crowd loves it. We had a house gig at a bar for about 5 years and it isn't easy to stay fresh and also not get bored with the place. But a guy who can wear a shirt like yours shouldn't have any trouble with boredom! Ha! I'll check Frigid Pink out. Thanks. This venue is wild. Never know what we will see. The front door is my Avatar. It is always packed and the folks are nuts.... "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Go get 'em Ross!Sometimes a band is identified by the songs it repeats and people at the venue may ask you if you plan on playing said songs. That is a good thing.It's a bad thing when they can set their watch by the song you are playing. "Oh, It must be 11:15 - they're playing Brown Eyed Girl."As long as the set list keeps changing and growing you have it covered. "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 We always end with American Band and it is getting old. After that song everyone knows to go home.... Even that has changed this time! "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 A buddy of mine was the drummer for a prominent cover band in this area for about five years. He told me the band NEVER changed its set in the entire time they were playing together. Eventually, he stopped playing with the band. About two years later, he went for a drink with some friends after work, and, lo and behold, this cover band was playing at the bar. Well, my buddy sat at the bar and called out every single song (in order, no less) before the band played it... including segues. Only two of the guys in the band were hold-overs from the days when my buddy was with them. Everyone at the bar thought my bud was psychic. So... yeah. Change up your set list, or you will run the risk of becoming ridiculously predictable. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brocko777 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Yeah, change it up. Talk to people during the breaks... see if they want to hear something you play. That way you can call it out as a request, even if it is Mustang Sally. One thing I ALWAYS hate is going to a bar and seeing a band then the next week same bar, different band.. same set list. What, there are ONLY 40 popular songs out there to play at a shot? Don't have a job you don't enjoy. If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself, you'll have inner peace. ~ Johnny Carson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 We do get more and more requests for some of the songs. We always agree to play the requests. Our singer keeps track of the set lists for each gig and tries real hard to keep it mixed up so that no two gigs are the same, especially at the same venue. The challange this week is that we just played there two weeks ago, hence a bunch of new material... I am ready. "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moot Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I recently quit a band that had the same set list for over 5 years. Occasionaly we would swap set 2 for 3 but it was the same. We always ended with Bullet the Blue Sky or Jumpin' Jack Flash. We never rehearsed, never learned anything new but were still popular. Go figure. They are playing this weekend with the new bassist and I'm wondering if I drive by at 10:14 I might hear Shook Me All Night Long. "He is to music what Stevie Wonder is to photography." getz76 I have nothing nice to say so . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 If there are so many good songs out there how comes EVERYBODY plays Mustang Sally? We have a core of tunes that have been in our setlist from day one. We try to add around 12 or more a year. Some we play once, others a few times and then drop, some become die hards. There doesn't seem to be a magic formula though, it's weird which ones stay and which ones go. It depends on the type of gig as to which tunes we chose. I always think that the sort of people who go to see bands regularly are generally not musicians. Most of the musicians I know prefer to be out playing not watching, so the audience is generally amazed at how good a live band can sound. Its the spectacle of a live band they come to see, not the tunes that they play. If that makes sense? I could watch 12 bands play Mustang Sally and I'd hear 12 different versions. Hell I'd watch our band play Mustang Sally 12 times and never hear the same version twice. Its got to be some weird person who comes to see you play time after time and notices you played the same songs in the same order. A lot of people will go to the cinema to see the same film over and over, people are like that. They find something they like and they keep coming back. How many people only ever order a Big Mac, Large Fries and Banana Shake? or is that just me? Feel the groove internally within your own creativity. - fingertalkin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 If there are so many good songs out there how comes EVERYBODY plays Mustang Sally? Well yeah there's a reason song lists stay the same - requests. A lot of folks that come to see us expect to hear certain songs. Fortunately in the case of Mustang Sally it's not requested that often. Then there are the "showcase" songs that we play and always get a good crowd response. If you're doing a house gig you have to mix it up and occasionally learn a new song just to keep it interresting for youselves. Or take a song and put a new spin on it to break up the monotony. Always try to keep it interresting. A bored band is boring to watch and a bored crowd won't stick around. Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I played in the same club for five nights a week for five years, four sets a night. We started with Moondance. Every night. The rest of the material gradually changed over time. We learned one new song a week, so by the end of a year we'd be doing all different songs than we were playing at the beginning of the year. Except for Moondance. One night the bandleader/lead singer/lead guitarist didn't call the tune. When we took a break, at least several people said, "we wanted to hear Moondance, why didn't you play it?" Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Yeah, sometimes people like to hear you do familiar songs(translate that into "same old stuff" for the musicians). But I think Jeremy has the right idea; learn a new song every week,and keep the list changing. If people request a tune you used to do, bring it back. Making folks happy isn't all that hard, just give 'em what they want. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.